Students cited the name of Ramsey Middle School as an example of “institutional oppression” because the state’s first governor, Alexander Ramsey, advocated the extermination of American Indians.

The school board said Tuesday it will consider only a minor change to its naming policy. The proposed addition says that any person for whom a school is named should have a “legacy that aligns with the values of the district.” The proposal also adds a cross-reference to the district’s racial equity policy.

The existing policy enables individual school communities to recommend a name change to the school board. Policy administrator Jackie Statum Allen said Tuesday that the process has worked well.

She said the Ramsey name could be changed, “but it’s a process that should be started inside that school.”

A more recent name-change proposal went nowhere. At a school board meeting in St. Paul last summer, two community members recommended a new name for Harding High School, saying Warren G. Harding had moral failings and a lackluster presidency.